Friendly Postman Merits Thanks

May 31, 1988|By Bill Bond of The Sentinel Staff

Here's some bouquets and boots to cheer up or gloom your day, depending on your mood:

Super neighborly letter carrier bouquet to ''Wibby'' James Crunk, the good- natured and hard-toiling letter carrier who religiously worked his route in the Lake Louise Estates area in Eustis since 1977. Regardless of whether you had mail, he always found time to say hello or give a friendly wave.

Of course, it probably slowed service a bit, but no one seemed to complain. Delivering the mail all those years was only a part-time occupation, and about a week ago, ''Wibby'' changed jobs: he's now sorting mail full time at the Mount Dora post office, giving his old car a long-overdue rest.

Neighbors showed how they felt by making two big good-bye signs, placing them at the entrance of the subdivision off Old Mount Dora Road. (P.S. I hope the brakes on the new letter carrier's vehicle make loud, squealy, metal-on- metal sounds like Wibby's did, letting residents know he was in the area.)

Hush, hush sweet Charlotte self-imposed gag boot to Howey-in-the-Hills council member Charlotte Lehner for withholding information from the public and other city officials that the state attorney's office had cleared Police Chief Carl Summerall of any wrongdoing in handling a burglary case involving a DeSisto student.

The prosecutor informed Lehner, in a telephone call on April 7, that the chief had followed proper police procedures. But Lehner didn't report that until May 9 at a city council meeting, and did so only because another council member learned of the state attorney's report and challenged Lehner to explain why she had not informed the council.

Lehner said she was waiting for a written response from the state before discussing it publicly. What made the councilwoman think she would get a written reply?

Double-barreled irresponsibility boot to Judson Cauthen and his purported political action committee, Citizens for Traditional American Education, for publishing distorted and wildly inaccurate information about the school bond issue. The Page 1 headline read: ''School bond to raise school taxes over 50 percent (if passed).'' On top of that, Cauthen never filed his required campaign treasurer and expenditure reports for political-action committees with the elections office.

Good job bouquet to Josie Cadwell of Umatilla, on her retirement earlier this week as director of nursing at Lake Eustis Care Center, capping a 15-year career. Her husband was late Umatilla city clerk Gwinn Cadwell.

Good eats, service dining bouquet to restaurateur Wayne Zimmerman of Squires III on being named winner of the Gourmet Diners Club of America 1988 Silver Spoon award, marking the fourth straight year the Leesburg eatery has garnered the honor.